1Fifteen-year-old Raye tossed her black hair out of her face as she hefted the heavy backpack onto her shoulder. She slammed the locker before any of the books could fall out and glanced around the crowded high school hallway, but her 5' 6" frame couldn't see anyone worth talking to.
Oh, there's Damson! She ducked into the stream of people pushing toward the doors. Maneuvering through the mob of bodies took skill, but she finally broke free and walked toward Damson. She felt a pang, and then it was gone. She had dated Damson, twice in fact, and both times, he had dumped her. But they were still friends. They had to be, they were both mages. As a mage, they controlled powers beyond belief. Raye was a master at controlling and manipulating fire, and Damson had his own special connection with shadows and illusions. His hair was the same color as Raye's, and his eyes were a gorgeous blue that mesmerized Raye when she looked into them. Even just thinking of them, Raye melted.
She mentally shook herself. She couldn't think of him that way, he was dating Lauri now. But it was hard to forget his dancers body up against hers when they kissed.
Rae Canenas poked Raye in the side, bringing her back to reality. The halls were nearly empty.
"Hey!" Raye jumped, "stop poking me!"
"Teehee," Rae giggled.
Raye rolled her eyes. Rae was a mage too, with wind as her specialty- and she was Raye's closest, and best, friend. Yet they were as different as night and day. Rae was blonde, tall and slender, while Raye was short and curvy, with long black hair.
The sound of Raye's protesting made Damson turn. He gave a smile and a half wave as Rae and Raye approached him. They all lined up against the railing over looking the school's lobby.
"Hey," Raye greeted as she looked down.
"Hello," Damson answered. Rae stayed silent. They all just stood there and watched the school drain of students for the last time before Christmas break. A few times, they called to students below with a "see you next year!" Rae glanced at the clock.
"Oh, it's 3:15 already," she picked up her bag, "I'll see you guys tonight. It's still at 7:30, right?"
"Yeah," Damson and Raye nodded. They practiced their magic and reviewed the happenings weekly. It was Friday, and the meeting was tonight.
"Ok, later!" Rae called as she left the building, leaving Damson and Raye alone. Raye turned her back to the lobby as she leaned against the rail and gave a sigh. Damson sent her a side-glance as Raye slid to the floor. When she reached the floor, she drew her knees up and rested her forehead against them.
"Long day?" Damson asked as he continued to stare out the windows in the lobby. Raye gave a sad laugh as she lifted her head to look at him.
"Yeah." she trailed off. "As if being a teenager wasn't hard enough!" Damson gave a quick smile.
"You're lucky, you're still a freshman." Damson was a junior, and he was the end of next summer, the group would find themselves minus a mage- and there were only five as it was; Raye; Rae; Damson; then Tendai, Rae's boyfriend, and the mage of earth; and Amberle, Raye's friend, mage of spirit with extra-heightened healing powers. They were all good friends, even though Tendai was in a different school than the other mages, being an eighth grader.
"Sometimes it doesn't feel like it," she smiled. Raye snapped back when Damson dropped down next to her. She moved her backpack between them. " We'll all miss you when you go to college. I'll miss you," she added. Damson studied her through his blue eyes. She stared straight ahead at the forest green lockers. She slowly turned and looked at him, her eyes meeting his. "I doubt anyone would notice if I didn't ever come here again," she stated, depressed, as she looked away.
Damson gave an exasperated sigh as he shook his head. Raye knew what he'd say next, so she got up to leave. "People do care about you. I care about you," Damson called after her. Raye's personality had shifted suddenly, and she felt like turning around and snapping, "Oh, sure you do!"
The cold air slapped Raye in the face as she stepped outside. She wrapped her black leather coat around her more tightly. Then she noticed that she had forgot her backpack. She turned to go back and almost collided with Damson. He held out her bag.
"Thanks," she mumbled as she slipped it on.
"No prob," Damson replied as he fell into step with her. They both stared at their feet as they walked.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I know that you care," Raye apologized.
"Mmm," Damson replied nervously. Raye looked up. They were at Damson's truck. "See you tonight."
"Yeah, see'ya," Raye called as she walked away. She could feel Damson watching her as she walked. Then, she heard a door slam and the noisy truck start up. She remembered when he used to give her rides up to the library; a ride wasn't all she got, but that was then.
Raye sighed. She knew Damson cared about her as a friend, but she wished it were more. And she had just a sliver of hope that there was more. But for now, she had to control herself. And all twelve voices.
Raye smiled. She could be considered a schizophrenic, her emotions and thoughts changed so quickly. She also could be considered a pyro, but since she was the mage of fire, it was to be expected. She reached up and fiddled with the Firestone. Rae had an almost identical rock, except the Firestone was a colored a deep crimson that seemed to burn and the Windstone was a swirling iridescent clear. Damson had the Darkstone, Tendai the Earthstone, and Amberle carried the Soulstone.
A piece of paper blew under her descending foot. She stepped on it, she couldn't resist. She looked around furtively. Then she looked at the paper and concentrated. The paper burst into flames. Soon, it was a pile of glowing ash.
"Oceanus," she whispered. It was as if someone had dumped a pitcher of water on the paper. The water flowed down the hill, carrying the remains of the paper with it. Raye watched it drip into a sewer, then checked again if anyone was around. No one in sight.
Raye snapped her fingers as she said, "Alliah". She reappeared in the bathroom at the library. Good thing no one was in there. But it was so much easier than walking, it was worth the chance.
She pushed open the stall door, then the bathroom door. Raye walked over to the computer and got on to her e-mail. An unfamiliar address had sent her an e-mail. 'That's odd. I have a spam block." Raye puzzled aloud.
I know who you are, Fire. I'll see you at 8 o'clock tonight. Be ready.
It was signed Storm. Raye stared open mouthed for a bit longer. Then she whipped out her cell phone and dialed Rae's number.
"Hello?"
"Rae, we have a problem. You get Tendai, call the others, and get to Headquarters. Now!" Raye hung up, and then ran to the bathroom.
"Alliah!" she whispered, and appeared at Headquarters.
From the outside, it looked like an ordinary half-abandoned tree fort. But when one of the Magestones was present, it showed what it really was, a high tech place to work, train, and relax, it was also Raye's home. The others would be here soon. Raye glanced at her watch. 4:23 PM. She chewed nervously on her bottom lip.
Oh, I hope this Storm mage wants to join, not cause trouble, she thought. Not that the team hadn't handled evil mages before, but Raye had come very close to not surviving the last encounter, and she hadn't recovered for a while. She had to create a vision of herself to go to school for her. At least it did good on that Algebra test. She gave a half smile. All she could do now was wait.
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